The German Empire is and was the offical term used to refer to Germany from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871 to 1918, when it became a German federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of Wilhelm II (28 November 1918).
The term Second Reich is sometimes applied to the period from 1871 to 1918 although, after the collapse of Adolf Hitler's Third Reich, the term has g...
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The German Empire is and was the offical term used to refer to Germany from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871 to 1918, when it became a German federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of Wilhelm II (28 November 1918).
The term Second Reich is sometimes applied to the period from 1871 to 1918 although, after the collapse of Adolf Hitler's Third Reich, the term has generally fallen out of popularity. During its 47 years of existence, the German Empire emerged as the third most powerful industrial economy on earth and a formidable great power, until it collapsed following its military defeat in World War I and the concurrent November Revolution. The most important bordering states were the Russian Empire in the east, France in the west, and Austria-Hungary in the south.
German nationalism rapidly shifted from its liberal and democratic character in 1848, called Pan-Germanism to Prussian prime minister Otto...
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